I'm interrupting this dormant dog-blog to write about my entry into the world of children's literature - there will still be the occasional mention of my erstwhile doggie companion who is still a pup in spirit, if not in size.

14 Mar 2012

A pig in the making

Pip managed to score two (!) full
dinners last night. He tricked us into it.

There is only one letter difference between Pip and Pig...

But first a little backstory. As
most of you will know Pip is a Border Collie-Labrador cross, also known as a
Borador. When I took him to the vet to get weighted the other day, the vet
nurse prescribed Advantage for fleas and something called Milbemax Allwormer
for worms. Both products were for dogs in the 10 to 25 kilo range.

With lots of treats and coaxing I
managed to get him to stand for two milliseconds on the vets scales which
registered 14.06 kilos. The nurse told me that she wouldn’t expect Pip to
exceed 25 kilos and that I could expect him to continue on the same medication
for the rest of his days.

‘What breed is he again?’ she
asked, giving him a closer inspection.

When I told her, she said it
would depend on whether he leant more towards the Border Collie or the Lab side
of things.

Well, dear Pip may have the
brains of a Border Collie but he has the stomach of a Lab.

Last night, for some strange
reason he threw up – yes, on the blue rug! Twice. It was only grass and a
little bit of grainy stuff which may or may not have been half-digested chicken
necks but I tried not to think about that as I sponged it out of my (formerly)
favourite rug.

Apart from the chucking he seemed
otherwise fine but I held off on giving him his dinner. Pip is now on a special
diet – thanks to Ruth the dog whisperer’s advice – of Dr Bruce’s special puppy
muesli, pre-soaked in water overnight, with fresh meat – either pet mince
(without the preservatives thanks very much) or chicken necks.

Pip would love to be this guy!

Because he likes to eat, especially
when we are, I divide his food into two portions so he has breakfast and
dinner. Often he’ll also have left-overs from whatever we’ve had – spaghetti, a
bit of roast and vegies, lasagne, etc. Only in small quantities of course and
with the fat cut off. He’s not spoilt – really...

So last night, Him-In-Doors arrived
home just a few minutes before I was set to rush out the door to sing with my
new choir (yay!)

‘I haven’t fed Pip yet,’ I told
him. ‘He chucked up a coupla times and I just wanted to make sure he’s okay.’

Then I grabbed Pip’s dinner and gave
it him on his deck at the back door.

Of course when I came home,
Him-In-Doors piped up proudly. ‘I fed Pip for you – he told me you forgot...’